INTRODUCTION:

The essence of this article comes down to these two essential facts: 1) the eight sugar theory is a myth that distorts the science of glycobiology and 2) MPS GOLD^™ 100 and 3X are far superior to any of the multi sugar glyconutrient products. 

The reasoning behind the superiority of MPS GOLD^™ products is based on science: the "eight sugar" glyconutrient products only conain two glyconutrient sugars that make any difference in terms of the immune system and cellular communication. This article reviews the only two important glyconutrients that are necesssary:  mannose and galactose.

The only source for mannose and galactose in all glyconutrient products is aloe vera gel. There are not exceptions! The only glyconutrient product with published molecular weight assays proving its healing power is the foundational MPS GOLD^™ 100 aloe vera powder extract and its companion booster MPS GOLD^™ 3X. This article goes into great depth about these two essential glyconutrients and how this relates to the eight essential sugar myth.

An honest history will also be presented that most likely is unknown to most distributors currently associated with Mannatech, Inc. This will explain how Emprise, Inc evolved into Mannatech, Inc. and what transpired in terms of the evolution of the aloe vera based product Manaloe^® to eventually became Ambrotose^®. (Ambrotose^® and Manaloe^® are registered trade names owned solely by Mannatech, Inc.).

For more specific information on MPS GOLD^™ 100 and MPS GOLD^™ 3X ingredients, directions, packaging, pricing, product comparisons and a molecular weight chart, click here

THE FUNCTIONALITY OF AMBROTOSE^®
INDREDIENTS AND PURPOSE FOR TAKING AMBROTOSE^®

The composition and purpose of taking Ambrotose^® as a natural supplement, according to Mannatech, Inc.* literature, is based on the science of glycobiology that involves glyconutrients. Glyco means sweet, and therefore a sweet nutrient is composed of sugar molecules necessary for the biology of the human organism. Sugar and carbohydrate are the same, but sugar often means small molecule, as in a monosaccharide. Mono means "one". Saccharide is the same as a sugar molecule, and therefore the word defines a single molecule of sugar. A large molecule isoften called a carbohydrate and composed of many single monosaccharide molecules hooked together and is therefore larger. Mannatech promotes the concept that there are eight essential sugars (monosaccharides) that the body needs for healthy cell to cell communication and that these eight sugar molecules are contained within the Ambrotose^® supplement.

There is a play on words with both the name of the company and the name of their product. Mannatech comes from an association with the term mannan as a long chain carbohydrate that is composed of single sugar mannose and galactose molecules hooked together in long linear chains (and therefore the term galactomannan is used to define the combination of the two monosaccharides). Previous to developing the product Ambrotose^®, Mannatech, Inc. was solely focused on galactomannans extracted from Aloe Vera in terms of presenting their importance in supporting healthy immune system function. There was less importance in the past by Mannatech placed on the general process of cell to cell communication than that of the immune system. Therefore, the complete company name is related to using technology in order extract, understand and formulate galactomannans that come from aloe vera. Ambrotose^® is a word that is related to two other words. Ambro is short for Ambrosia, which can be defined as a sweet nectarine like substance and tose is included in the last syllable of all sugars as either tose or ose (as in galactose, glucose, mannose and so on). Since glycobiology is about sweet biology in terms of monosaccharides, there is an interesting correlation between glcyobiology and the word Ambrotose^®.

The eight monosaccharides that Mannatech defines as being present in Ambrotose^® as essential glyconutrients are: 1) mannose, 2) galactose, 3) fucose, 4) xylose, 5) glucose, 6) sialic acid, 7) N-acetylglucosamine and 8) N-acetylgalactosamine. According to Mannatech personnel, these 8 so called essential eight sugars can readily be absorbed and incorporated with proteins and fats as glycol-proteins and glycolipids. In combination with proteins and lipids these sugar molecules form what are called glycoconjugates, which coat the surface of cells in order to bind with its receptor sites so that receptor sites on other cells can be connected to in order facilitate cell to cell communication as a chain of chemical events throughout the entire body.

RELEVANCY OF THE SO CALLED 8 ESSENTIAL SUGARS IN AMBROTOSE^®
& THE DOMINANCE OF MANNOSE AND GALACTOSE

AS THE ESSENTIAL GLYCONUTRIENTS

The proposition that there are 8 essential sugar molecules as glyconutrients that humans need in their diet plays on the well known phrase that there are 8 essential amino acids that are essential for the diet in terms of protein. The 8 essential sugar molecules that are found in Ambrotose^® is somewhat esoteric in terms of standard education and understanding about diet. First of all, sugar molecules that are recognized in biological science for cell to cell communication – which includes immune system function – are not meant to be a source of energy as found with the sugar glucose and other sugars that are meant to metablize and produced energy in the body. The sugar glucose when found in larger carbohydrate molecules breaks down in the body into its simpler forms of sugar molecules due to enzyme actions from the mouth, gut and pancreas – or if glucose is taken in as a food sugar then it can go directly to energy production in the cells. The other issue has to do with a lack of agreement that the so called 8 essential sugars are meant to be derived from diet. This is not a standard nutritional perspective embraced in mainstream medicine.

However, glucose is considered one of the eight essential sugars as proposed by Mannatech in order to facilitate cell to cell communication. But all the research in glycobiology points out that glucose is not involved in any significant way with creating glyco-conjugates to fit into receptor sites on cells, which is because glucose is primarily directed to energy production in the body in order for the cells to accomplish biological work and cannot really be manipulated by the internal mechanisms of the body to form conjugates on the surface of cells. Of the other eight monosaccharides, only a few are dominantly involved in regulating balanced cell to cell communication – with the most dominant being mannose and galactose that is found in aloe vera, which includes immune system function in order to identify and eliminate non-self and lower inappropriate inflammation. These key monosaccharides that are utilized by the body in cell to cell communication are not food carbohydrates in the sense that they provide energy to the cells, but rather are considered phytochemicals that have a different role in the body as a nutrient from food.

It is no surprise that mannose and galactose are the two dominant monosaccharides that are responsible for allowing the body to create glycoconjugates in order to coat the outside of cells and fit into the appropriate receptor sites. The only consistently reliable source of mannose and galactose from outside the body's own internal mechanisms to make them is from the aloe vera plant. This explains why Mannatech, Inc. and its prior incarnation as Emprise, Inc. emphasized mannose and galactose as the most important phytonutrients for the health of the immune system and general cell to cell communication up until the advent of Ambrotose^®.

Therefore, the perspective that all eight of the monosaccharides presented by Mannatech as essential for the health of the body may not be directly related to the issue of cell to cell communication, which is the whole point of why Ambrotose^® was formulated in the first place. At lease glucose should be eliminated from this formulary approach based on the factual issues of glycobiology. Again, the aloe vera plant contains the two monosaccharides – mannose and galactose – that are most commonly associated with forming glyco-conjugates to facilitate cell to cell communication that is inclusive of immune system modulation function.

COMPARING AMBROTOSE^® TO MPS-GOLD^™ 100
Adding Saccharides from other Botanical sources

as Glyconutrients to make Ambrotose^™

Written by Dr. David Wheeler

"My history with glyconutrients goes back to 1995 when I first became involved in understanding the use of mannose and galactose (extracted from Aloe Vera) in order to modulate healthy immune system function. I developed my initial interest because of my own personal health problems that involved having tumors in my throat, pervasive soft tissue and joint pain, mind numbing fatigue and terrible gut issues – which all came about after a trip to India where I contracted amoebic and bacterial dysentery. I was able to turn my health around, even though I was incapacitated from being able to work or even participate in day to day life and without any enjoyment whatsoever. My health turn around involved discovering a method for producing an aloe vera product containing stabilized long chain mannose/galactose molecules. To read my complete life saving story, refer to my website on the home page at www.healthbreakthroughs.net and another specific section here .

After turning my own life around I became very interested in making this very specific extraction of the most essential glyconutrients from aloe vera available to as many people as possible. Over the next few months I established a semi-exclusive contract for the sale of a specific aloe vera extraction that had just discovered other than the standard one that Mannatech had been selling as an MLM. My contract involved the USA and Canada with this pharmaceutical company that manufactured the freeze dried Aloe Vera powder I had been taking. My commentary in this article is the wrong forum to describe what transpired from there, but the journey had many rough places in terms of being able to carry on with a meaningful international marketing effort. I finally discontinued representing this pharmaceutical company’s aloe vera product.

Leaving my relationship with this pharmaceutical had a silver lining, which is because this led me to discover a different approach to producing high molecular weight galactomannan powder extracted from Aloe Vera gel. This newly discovered aloe vera dried powder turned out to be more complete in terms of molecular weight range and was not being processed with alcohol extraction as was the case with the aloe vera powder I was receiving from the pharmaceutical company referenced in this article. In the year 2000 I stopped using the alcohol precipitation aloe vera powder all together and began using the new aloe vera powder in MPS-GOLD^™ 100 that was based on an entirely different extraction technology.

I found about Manaloe^® in a very round about way via a very theoretical area of health research based on monatomic elements and their biological property of super conductivity. There are alternative researchers who propose that the active ingredients from aloe vera in Manaloe^® are very high in theoretical monatomic elements. I do not place much importance on this information because it is so theoretical compared to the vast body of glcyobiology research 

I heard from various sources that I needed to take 20 to 30 capsules (there were 60 capsules to a bottle) in order to get enough of the active ingredient into my body in order to affect my serious health issues (30 capsules is almost a 1000 mg of the aloe vera powder, which actually turned out to be related to Dr. Terry Pulse’s work on AIDS in terms of dosage for a serious, chronic disease). Even though this was a very expensive proposition in terms of buying Mannatech’s Manaloe^® at MLM prices, I immediately took 30 capsules after receiving my first set of bottles and within minutes I noticed dramatic improvement in all my symptoms. I took half a bottle every day, but also called the Pharmaceutical Company that made the aloe vera powder with a few weeks and was able to start ordering the new variation of the alcohol extracted aloe vera powder, which was not fundamentally any different other than the benefit of higher complex carbohydrate content. I kept up the same dosage, but without the capsules and the fillers and at a fraction of the cost of purchasing Manaloe^®. In 6 weeks I recovered about 90% from my symptoms and was back to working full time in New York City.

Instead of mixing the freeze dried powder extract that contains high levels of stabilized mannose/galactose powder with fillers in capsules, as is the case with the current Manaloe^® and Ambrotose^® products, I bottled the loose powder so that people could take it in a pure form – without any fillers or any other non plant material. In addition, I lowered the price substantially. Consumers should try to determine whether or not a loose powder aloe vera product has any fillers to reduce to cost per weight and volume, which is important to do when purchasing this type of premium aloe vera product from a network marketing company.

At the time I became involved with purchasing aloe vera powder from the same pharmaceutical company as Mannatech, I was not receiving the same powder extraction, but with slight modification based on filtering and washes to increase the actual saccharide percentage in the final product. Also, when I began offering aloe vera powder in loose powder form, Mannatech was not doing so, but instead was offering it only in capsules mixed with lecithin and other fillers. Some time after I became involved with purchasing aloe vera powder from the same pharmaceutical company as Mannatech in the slightly different form, a few other companies also became involved with buying loose powder and then reselling it with different packaging. Eventually, Mannatech offered Ambrotose^® as a loose powder and now the most popular form of this product. Did I have an impact on the presentation of the loose powder form of glyconutrients that may not have taken place otherwise with Mannatech’s Ambrotose^®? Possibly!

Within a year of my involvement in selling my loose aloe vera product called MPS-GOLD^™ 100, Mannatech dropped their exclusive agreement with the Pharmaceutical Company to buy and sell their specific form of aloe vera powder. I was then able to buy and sell both forms of aloe vera powder as well as another entirely different (and very, very expensive) high molecular weight powder in order to insure all the molecular weight ranges from 10,000 Daltons up to 2,500,000 Daltons. But the pharmaceutical company dropped the alternative to their basic aloe powder extract as well as the high moleuclar weight form.

With Mannatech's exclusivity no longer relevant, all companies could now purchase the same alcohol extraction aloe vera powder that Mannatech was purchasing. I had unfortunately made the mistake or relying on the use of the high molecular weight aloe vera powder to provide my customers, which as I mentioned was discontinued by the pharmaceutical company. Some of my customers had begun to rely on using both my standard MPS-GOLD^™ 100 that had mannose/galactose molecular weights below 1,000,000 Daltons as well as the denser MPS-GOLD^™ 200 that went up to 2,500,000 Daltons in order to have the full functionality of the aloe vera plant present. Fortunately, as a stated already, I was able to gain access to a newer extraction process. This new extraction process did not rely on alcohol for drying aloe gel that had the full molecular weight range of mannose/galactose from aloe vera.

This new extraction process is used exclusively to produce MPS-GOLD^™ 100. This means that MPS GOLD^™ 100 contains the complete moleuclar weight range of galactomannans from Aloe Vera: 10,000 up to 2,500,000 Daltons.

Mannatech still maintains a theme of botanical extracted saccharides, but their new product Ambrotose^® also contains saccharides from other botanical sources than aloe vera, such as the Larch tree, in order to achieve the goal of having all eight sugars that are referred to in their literature included. But as already pointed out, the question does arise as to whether or not the eight sugars Mannatech puts into their product is truly necessary in order to achieve to goal of improving cell to cell communication.

Mannatech did not delete the Manaloe^® trade name, but instead reformulated it to be different than Ambrotose^® only in the sense that Manaloe^® is the same as Ambrotose^® but mixed with lecithin and other fillers. Ambrotose^® does not contain any lecithin, but rather rice flower and other fillers. Obviously, Mannatech had observed that some people cannot ingest lecithin because of being highly allergic or at a minimum have a food sensitivity to soy. I have always maintained in my directions the perspective of adding soy lecithin to MPS-GOLD^™ 100 loose powder, and if not lecithin take some other fatty acid, such as flax seed oil or olive oil. This will increase absorption of the highly complex saccharide molecules in MPS GOLD^™ products through the gut wall.

In addition, Mannatech changed all other products that had previously contained only complex saccharides from aloe vera to that of the multi sugar Ambrotose^®. Mannatech no longer offered any products that contained only the aloe vera powder extract by itself as was the case with the original Manaloe^®.

It was soon after Mannatech changed over to Ambrotose^® that I started receiving several calls from their distributors. They claimed in their comments to me that they were having problems with Ambrotose^® as compared to the previous aloe based Manaloe^®. In other words, they told me that their healing response experiences were much less than before. I wasn’t privy to inside information at Mannatech, so I could only guess as to why people didn’t seem to get the same benefit. One of my questions to Mannatech distributors at the time was – How did anyone really know what the impact would be from changing the formula that was a combination of plant saccharides rather than just the aloe vera based form?

I had been provided with copies of literature from Mannatech. In the beginning there was no clinical research to back up the use of the eight sugar combination, or even a body of anecdotal evidence. However, there was significant research at the foundation for the aloe based product Mannatech sold, as well as an anecdotal foundation . Therefore, in the beginning, the benefits touted for Ambrotose^® seemed more like a theory rather than fact.

I have known a lot of people in the sales and marketing business of aloe vera – both as a powder and a liquid – and I was given very reliable information from my sources that Mannatech attempted to drastically reduce the mannose/galactose content in Ambrotose^®. But apparently this realignment of lowered aloe powder content in Ambrotose^® back fired and they actually increased it back up to a higher level of concentration. After increasing the mannose/galactose aloe vera powder content in Ambrotose^® back up to a much higher level, the complaints I was hearing from distributors faded to great extent.

Decreasing and then subsequently increasing the mannose/galactose from aloe vera content in Ambrotose^® brings up interesting questions. What came to mind for me is this: how much impact do these other six monosaccharides have on cell to cell communication and on the immune system in general? Does the anecdotal information also give credence to the importance of only galactomannan glyconutrients in terms of cell to cell communication? I am not attempting to provide exacting answers to these questions, but rather point out the history of what took place with the development of Ambrotose^® and then let the reader ponder the questions and issues involved.

Another interesting facet involved in the Ambrotose^® and Manaloe^® products is that there is no real quantification of the ingredients on the label that I am aware of at the time of this writing. This could change at any time. The exact amounts and sources of all ingredients is somewhat of a mystery based on my limited observations. As a doctor and knowing what the perspective of other doctors might be , I am a little surprised by this lack of quantification, since most people would like to know at least the amount of mannose/galactose aloe vera powder in Ambrotose^® and Manaloe^® -- let alone all the other ingredients. The amount of freeze dried aloe vera powder is quantified exactly in my product MPS-GOLD^™ 100."

NON FOOD GLYCONUTRIENTS ARE NOT DIGESTED
BUT INSTEAD THEY ARE ABSORBED INTACT

The issue of 8 essential sugars that are referenced in Ambrotose^® from Mannatech for the health of the body must be looked at from the perspective of what each specific sugar is meant to supply the body: 1) energy or 2) cell to cell communication support. The two most dominant sugar molecules according to the vast medical research completed over the last several years that support cell to cell communication are mannose and galactose, which actually occur as long linear chains in natural form in aloe vera – with a two to one ratio between mannose and galactose respectively. MPS-GOLD^™ 100 is the only product available in a loose powder form (as of this writing) that contains the full molecular weight range of the mannose/galactose molecule.

Fortunately, with the existence of more than one aloe vera extraction technology, the mannose/galactose long chain structures in the aloe vera plant can be extracted intact as a freeze dried powder as found in MPS-GOLD^™ 100. This is based on a proprietary step by step drying process – as compared to the freeze drying process used to produce the aloe vera powder in Ambrotose^® and Manaloe^® from Mannatech, Inc.

When the freeze dried power extract of mannose/galactose from aloe vera is taken orally (in Ambrotose^®, Manaloe^® and MPS-GOLD^™ 100), the body does not break down true high weight glycocongugate sugar molecules into a simpler form as is the case with glucose based carbohydrates. The body does not have the enzymes to do so.

If the body did produce enzymes to break down the long chain mannose/galactose molecule from aloe vera and other glyconutrients found in Ambrotose^®, Manaloe^® and MPS-GOLD^™ 100, then a biological disaster would result in the body! The body is intelligent in its design and has not developed enzymes over the evolutionary history of life of the human being to break down all sugar sources from their complex form into simpler mono forms, but instead to establish other absorption and assimilation systems in order to support other functions in the body, such as cell to cell communication. The only way to absorb conjugate assisting sugar molecules is when they are in high molecular weight form. When these molecules are low molecular weight, the gut will break them down and disallow thier use for cell to cell communication purposes.

• THE MANNATECH CORPORATION

Mannatech, Inc. with its headquarters in Coppell, Texas*utilizes MLM for sales and marketing and manufactures a natural supplements called Ambrotose^®, Manaloe^® and other products based on the nutritional issue of cellular communication phytochemicals (the registered trade mark for Ambrotose^® and Manaloe^® is owned by Mannatech, Inc) The staff and associated researchers involved with Mannatech, Inc. appear to be more highly qualified scientifically as compared to many other direct sales and MLM companies in the United States that manufacture and sell natural supplements. The principle people who got Mannatech, Inc started from the foundation of the previous corporation Emprise, Inc. are: Sam Caster – the current Chairman of the Board of Directors for Mannatech, Inc. and originally was the President who instituted the initial distributor marketing plans; Bill H. McAnalley – who was instrumental in establishing the patented procedures for extracting the active ingredients from Aloe Vera with alcohol precipitation in the pharmaceutical industry.

In the opinion of Dr David Wheeler, he views Ambrotose^® as a high quality product as compared to many other natural products in the marketplace. On the other hand, he presents MPS GOLD^™ 100 as superior based on the issue of which glyconutrients are the most important to improve cellular communication and that he has published assays proving that the aloe powder used in MPS GOLD^™ 100 has the complete range of molecular weights for mannose and galactose.

In addition, Dr. David Wheeler has pointed out that he has no way of knowing whether or not the aloe vera power content and structure will remain the same over time at Mannatech. Dr Wheeler has no way of knowing about the inner workings of Mannatech to know where they get their botanical powders to make their various products. Dr. Wheeler would be happy to receive updates about any changes at Mannatech, Inc, and if they are proven to be factual, he will post these updates on this page.

• EVOLUTION OF MANNATECH, INC. FROM EMPRISE, INC.

The principles that now own and control Mannatech, Inc, started their business journey by taking over Emprise, Inc, which had a focus on a wild yam formulation to support normal endocrine system pathways for women as well as men. Wild yam has been used extensively for many years as a natural supplement to support a healthy balance of progesterone in the body.

When the principles that now own Mannatech, Inc. bought out Emprise, Inc. they did so with the purpose in mind to supplant the existing wild yam supplement as primary with a freeze dried extract of aloe vera that contains stabilized carbohydrate linear chains composed of mannose and galactose. There was a shift from endocrine system support to immune system support.

Eventually, Emprise, Inc. as an identity was replaced by the name Mannatech, Inc., which more accurately depicted the theme of the new identity in terms of an aloe vera supplement containing mannans from aloe vera to modulate immune system function and support healthy cell to cell communication.

The original mannose/galactose aloe vera natural supplement was named Manaloe^®, which is obviously a play on words with mannan carbohydrates from Aloe Vera. Manaloe^™ was sold in capsules of 30 mg each in a filler base that included Lecithin powder. Lecithin was added to the freeze dried aloe vera powder extract in order to increase absorption of the mannose/galactose molecules, which was based on the original work of Dr. Reginald Mc Daniel and Dr. Terry Pulse in their AIDS studies that took place in the middle 1980s. However, some people are chemically sensitive and/or allergic to soy based products and could not take Manaloe^® for this reason. The premise with lecithin is that by taking it along with the hard to absorb mannose/galactose freeze dried powder extract from aloe vera will cause it to get closer to the gut wall in order to facilitate absorption. Eventually, of course, Ambrotose^® was developed as the primary ingredient in all of Mannatech’s products based on the 8 sugar theory of glycobiology.